NOTE: Please jump to the very end for an urgent prayer request if you are inclined to pray.
On July 27th, we eagerly checked in to Duke Children’s Hospital where Manny was SO ready to have his ICD (Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator) surgery:
Manny was prayed over by our favorite chaplain who was with us the last time Manny was in the hospital; we always appreciate him!
We had to wait quite a while for the operating room to be ready, during which time God provided a compassionate Christian nurse to play video games with Manny to help him forget that a very long time had passed since he had last eaten or drank anything, gulp:
Thankfully, a little after 1:45pm, Manny was FINALLY cleared for surgery, so we prayed one more time before he calmly walked right into the O.R. with his airy hospital gown, floppy hair net, and grippy socks. We were surprised they did not wheel him in on the stretcher like last time, but hey, why ride when you can escort yourself?!
By 5:30pm, we were finally able to visit him post-op after hearing from his cardiologist that the procedure went well. We knew from past experience that coming out of anesthesia, Manny would most likely request “an orange popsicle, please,” and sure enough, though he had little recollection of exactly what he said at the time, he indeed asked for one from the nurse, so we enjoyed drenching his post-intubated parched throat:
Manny’s ICD is approximately 7.5 cm tall, 5.5 cm wide, and 1cm thick and weighs 71 grams or about 2.5 ounces. What a technologically-advanced medical device marvel – the battery can last for 10+ years!
During our overnight stay, Apollos got to practice his early nursing skills by helping serve Manny’s lunch, awww:
By the next afternoon, we were discharged with many post-op instructions and Manny’s cardiologist warned him that he would be in quite a bit of pain for about one week. Due to Manny’s thin build, instead of placing the ICD just under the skin over the muscle, he had to cut a pocket in Manny’s pectoralis major and wedge it in between the major and minor muscle, ouch! But by the grace of God and your prayers, Manny was off Tylenol after only 2.5 days, praise the LORD! Here he is with his new ICD Monitor that stays connected to WiFi at all times. Unlike his life vest, in which Manny had to pack every bit of equipment related to the vest, including the heavy battery pack, we learned that we can now actually leave this new monitor at home if we need to travel anywhere for less than 3 weeks away from home, how convenient:
One week later, we were never so eager to pack up the Zoll Life vest and all of its components and return the entire blessed box back to the rep! We thank God for the purpose it served for the past two years and now look forward to Manny’s ICD carrying him through all the way to transplant, Lord willing!
We were overjoyed to have Manny’s original Life Vest rep, who first demonstrated to us in the hospital how to use it, retrieve all the equipment. Before he left, we were able to pray for him and his family, thank God for his kindness and care over the past two years, and we sincerely hope he comes to visit us at Rooted Church one day!
It’s incredible to think that only two weeks after his surgery, Manny was able to begin his first day of 10th grade chemistry class and he is now full into the rest of his classes, praise the Lord!
As we wait for Manny to regain full range of his left arm motion, we would like to ask for prayer for COMPLETE HEALING of his surgical incision. For the past two weeks, it has been draining an unusual amount of fluids and leaking some blood. His cardiologist was very concerned about infection, so we returned to the hospital recently to have the wound sterilized and to have a special dressing applied. Manny is finishing a full course of antibiotics in order to prevent infection from setting in. We are trusting God, the healer of all wounds, to bind this one up! Perhaps your own heart needs healing from an emotional, physical, mental, social, or spiritual wound of some kind? We encourage you to go to the LORD, who according to Psalm 147, verse 3,“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” May we all experience God’s healing hand during these trying days of senseless school shootings, loss of life and property due to fires, floods or hurricanes, war, or whatever else that is affecting you deeply.
THANK YOU so much for your heartfelt support in so many ways. We are so grateful for all who have given, commented, cared, and prayed!
With much gratitude in Christ,
The Lees